Giardino Ristorante

This new kid on the block is located behind a carwash. While other restaurants with this location serve "cowboy" food, this restaurant serves pizza and pasta so we thought.

After class one day, we wanted to chill and just eat and talk. We chose Giardino because we haven't tried it and it was close one Sunday ago when we were to eat there. At Giardino, we were surprised to see a pocket of tables, chairs and benches with a fishpond and a bridge over it all tucked in a corner away from the street's eyes. We chose the spot to ourselves and ordered.

The waiter brought only one menu with him so I requested for more. He brought another one. Two is many, huh? I was shocked to see Filipino items on their menu. I was expecting it to be purely Pizza and Pasta as their name suggests. We ordered Giardino's Best Pizza, Bacon and Egg Pizza and Carbonara. I didn't time how long it took for them to serve our orders because I had fun talking and laughing with my friends over two pitchers of Iced Tea compliments of the house. :)

Our orders arrived in large, heavy plates and bowls. I got Carbonara and one slice of each Pizza.

The carbonara was buttery and its noodles were shredded. They must have overcooked the pasta thus cutting it into pieces when cooking it with the sauce. It may have a little tast of "Instant" in it though. Something I won't order but also something I may to break the monotony of eating pizza.

Their pizza came in thin slices. The edges were crunchy and the rest smooth and chewy. There were plenty of toppings and it was really tasty that writing about it right now makes me want to eat there this instant.

The owner came to greet us and sell us tickets for a buffet on the Valentine's but my friends and I are all busy people so we declined. After dinner, we chatted and laughed some more and wouldn't have left had it not for the rain.

This is a place where I would want to return to just to chill out and lounge.

Menu. Click to enlarge. Open in new tab to superenlarge.

Menu. Click to enlarge.

Giardino Ristorante
Jalandoni St., Jaro, Iloilo City
(033)3208980
Open everyday (already)

RoundDish

One Sunday ago, after mass at St. Clement's, we crossed the street and ate at RoundDish.

When we arrived, there was no one and we had to call out for someone. After a few calls, someone went out from the kitchen. She was just wearing Tshirt which didn't look that presentable at all. She gave us menus and turned on the television and the airconditioning unit.

I ordered the Tonkatsu Curry at PhP98 while my friends ordered other things. After taking our orders, the waitress disappeared. We were left to chat, watch TV and own the place to ourselves.

After a long while, the waitress appeared with out food. This time, she was sweaty and more unpresentable. This must be a one-man show. Poor her.

The food didn't taste special. And it was very expensive! The aircon didn't work that well and the TV had only one channel. Boo!

I certainly won't return there.

RoundDish
Urban Inn, Luna St., Lapaz, Iloilo City
(033)3296724

Jo's Chicken Inato

After classes last Friday, my classmates headed to Roberto's for siopao. I, and a few other friends, weren't in the mood for siopao though. I wanted to eat grilled pork or anything tasty so I tagged along with a friend who wanted to eat at Jo's. :)

A couple of months ago, they added budget meals to their menu. There were 6 choices all priced from PhP 39 to PhP60. Choices include Bihon with Bread and Pancit Canton with Bread at PhP 39 each; Fried Chicken Wings with Rice and Halo-halo, and Grilled Chicken Leg with Rice and Halo-halo at PhP 55 each; and my order of Fried Pork with Rice at PhP60. I forgot the other one. :)

I thought they would have small servings of both pork and rice but when my orders arrived, they certainly proved me wrong. :) The pork was crispy and tasty even if it was just seasoned with salt and pepper, I assume. I liked it so much so that I found myself at a crossroads of ordering extra rice or not. After much inner argument, I decided not to and order their burger instead. :)

After dinner, I had their burger. It was priced at PhP25 and had a thin slice of patty in it. It wasn't really that thin but it was thin compared to other burgers. The bread was soft though and the condiments hot. There was just plenty of ketchup that they seemed to drown my burger in it. :( It was still good nonetheless. Nothing I would crave for but something I may order when I am hungry. The same goes for their Fried Pork except that it may be a little positive on the crave scale. :)

The Bihon, by the way, which my friend ordered had plenty of meat  bits in it. It was good and certainly worth it at PhP39.

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The first time I ordered the Pork Belly at Jo's, I felt robbed of my PhP100. The Pork Belly that time was tough and seemed rushed. So I wouldn't have ordered it a second time had I not been craving for grilled pork. Thank God, this time it was tasty, juicy and delicious.

My staple at Jo's though is the Fried Pork. If I am hungry, I add Bihon or Pansit.

The Fried Pork with Rice is at PhP60. It is crunchy and tasty and is even more delicious with that garlic and vinegar concoction served on the side.

The Pansit has a lot of meat on it and has one piece of bread on the side. It may seem small but it really is large. Swear!

This is my friend's comfort zone because they serve her comfort food but I also enjoy it here because of the comfortable place, good food and cheap prices.

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Menu. Click images to enlarge. Open in new tabs to superenlarge.

Jo's Chicken Inato
Jalandoni St., Jaro, Iloilo City
(033)3204937
Other branches at St Paul's and Quezon St. in Downtown Iloilo.
Open for lunch and dinner everyday
Jo's Chicken Inato Website
Jo's Chicken Inato Facebook

Dinagsa Festival

Last January 29, I went to Cadiz city for their Dinagsa Festival. What greeted me on the breakfast table were fishes of all kinds, dried squid and beef caldereta. To add, the rice was just the way I like it - soft, sticky and a little wet. :) Ordinary food like this is a treat for me because in a place like Iloilo, fish is scarce in the food shops or stalls I eat in.

After breakfast, there were plenty of young coconuts. I enjoyed eating it because it was soft and tasty. :)

The next day was the festival proper. My friends and I headed to a friend's uncle where there were plenty to eat but we only had Kaldereta.

And, boy, was it yummy! It was soft and not smelly and a little spicy. Just the way I like it. :) There were also some desserts but we just popped one or two of the chocolate bars. It wasn't that moist but was still good nonetheless.

For lunch, I only ate lechon. I thought the skin wouldn't be that crunchy but was I wrong! I also chose the tender and juicy meat parts. Yummy!

What a treat one weekend was! A sure break from my busy life of books. :)

Lava

I read on another blog about this booth which sells Mexican food. I love Mexican food but I deterred eating there for about two times because I didn't have my cam with me. One day, however, I was left with no choice because I am so tired with the food at SM.

It took me a while to decide what to have. After minutesssss of indecisiveness, I ordered a wet burrito.

When I ate my food, I found out that it was just heated. The cheese is not cheesy and the burrito did not fare well either. I was so disappointed that I may not order from their anymore. I think some of my classmates like it though.

Oh. I suffered an upset stomach for 2 or 3 days because of their burrito which was a mixture of some sorts. :-|

Lava
SM Foodcourt
BS Aquino Avenue, Iloilo City

Krispy Kreme

Whenever I know someone is headed to Manila or someone is going home from Manila, I plead them to bring Krispy Kreme. :)

I am very happy if one gives me only one doughnut but was surprised one Friday ago, when my friend gave me half a dozen. Yumyum!

I had the Blueberry Cheesecake first because I never had a Krispy Kreme cheesecake before. It was so-so. I also had the all-time favorite Original Glaze, the New Year newcomer which was of ring variety and with Toblerone pieces on top, another ring variety with Snickers and Lemon Cheesecake.

Blueberry Cheesecake

Lemon Cheesecake

Original Glaze

Snickers

Toblerone

My favorite among the new flavors is the one with Toblerone on top but my all-time favorite remains to be Hershey's Cookies and Kreme.

I want more! :)

Krispy Kreme outlets are only found in Manila but there are some restos in Iloilo, Cebu and Davao which buys them from Manila and sells them to in the places mentioned.
Krispy Kreme on Facebook 1
Krispy Kreme on Facebook 2

Bob's

Bob's is the most famous restaurant of Bacolod. I think you haven't been to Bacolod if you haven't eaten here.

My college friends and I were supposed to eat at Bar21 but we were intimidated by the looks of it. So we headed to Bob's which is the safest choice we all could make.

At Bob's, we read the menu even if we know what we would have - Baby Back Ribs.

It took less than 15 minutes for the food to arrive but we were all hungry and 15 minutes meant forever. As soon as our plates touched our table and as soon as we said our prayers, we gobbled on our food. I even almost forgot to take pictures. Haha.

The ribs at Bob's was soft and juicy and delicious. But I still think that those in Bourbon Street is the best. You certainly can't forget your first, can you?

The onion rings on the side was all flour. But I forgot about it because there were steamed veggies I so enjoy having.

The waiters in Bob's are attentive. We even interviewed one of them and gathered that some of them were with Bob's since it started in 1965.

Bob's never fail to please me.

A proof of pleasure

Menu. Click the images to enlarge. Open in new tabs to superenlarge.

 











Bob's
BS Aquino Drive, Bacolod City
With branches at SM and Makati
http://bobsbacolod.com/

Salvi's

We were supposed to eat at Giardino but circumstances didn't allow it because Giardino is closed on Sundays. We headed to Salvi's anyway which is about 10 steps away from Giardino.

Salvi's has a limited array of food and is priced high. But given no choice, my friends and I selected what we perceived to be the best and ordered ribs, Lechon Kawali and Pork Binagoongan.

It took a long while for the food to arrive. About 40 minutes in fact. Good thing we had our books and notes to keep us busy.  But on an empty stomach, you couldn't do anything but grumble about the slow service.

After a while, our food arrived. I was greeted with a small slab of ribs which was not appealing at all. The sauce was dark and looked like shit and my ribs didn't smell enticing at all. I took a bite anyway and was more disappointed. In fact, the first word I blurted after I chewed once was, "Maot!" literally meaning ugly but could also mean not delicious. It was tough, dry and not delicious! And this for 135!

I tasted the Lechon Kawali in the hopes of being satisfied but seeing it alone crushes all my hopes of a good dinner. It was fatty with bits of meat scattered here and there. It would have been fine if it was cooked like chicharon where the fat is made edible but it isn't and it's appearance alone screams, "Yuck!"

I tasted it anyway and found it to be tough, dry and not tasty. Same as that rib dish. The only good thing about my dinner was the crispy skin. And there was only a few of that.

The Pork Binagoongan, the waiter said, was good for 3 persons but it seemed to be good for only 1. There were a few slices of meat and plenty of onions and pepper. It didn't even taste like Binagoongan at all.

I was never satisfied with my dinner and even thought of eating again.

I will never eat again at Salvi's.

Menu. Click the images to enlarge. Open in new tabs to superenlarge.

 











Salvi's
Jalandoni St, Iloilo City
Open for lunch until about 12MN
Salvi's on Facebook

Dinagyang Siopao and Nang Pat's Siopao

I was hesitant to go to Villa for a field trip. But what kept me going was the siopao in Villa that I have never tried and wanted to try. :)

I sat for an hour listening to the head of the institution we went to. After he said, "Thank you", my friends and I rushed out to search for one of the most famous siopao in Iloilo.

I thought it was just a block away from the plaza so we walked. After about three blocks, we didn't see any sign of it so we asked a tricycle driver. He pointed that it was further up ahead the road. So we continued to walk. After a block or two, we finally arrived.

We were faced with a dilemma. On what to eat first since we were presented with two options - Dinagyang siopao and Nang Pat's. My friends and I decided to buy at Dinagyang and then at Nang Pat's so that we can also sit at the tables provided at the latter.

At Dinagyang, the man who tended the store told us that their siopao was not hot. We settled for it though because we traveled quite a long way for the siopao. :)

I had chicken siopao at PhP22. The pork one was priced at PhP17.

At Nang Pat's, I had a pork siopao which was priced the same as that in Dinagyang. Only that it was fresh off the steam and was very hot. :) I ate the Chicken siopao first to let the Pork one cool down. It was good and stuffed with chicken. The only downside is that it wasn't hot at all.

After I ate the siopao we bought at Dinagyang, I ate the steamed pork buns I bought at Nang Pat's. Some of my friends didn't eat their purchases because they were already full from that Dinagyang siopao.

The siopao at Nang Pat's was big - very big. But the stuffing was small and tasted weird. Maybe their chicken siopao was good but I had the pork one and it sucked.

I preferred the dough at Dinagyang too. And so, all in all, I choose Dinagyang over Nang Pat's. I should have the hot one next time though.

Hmmm... Would I return? Not really. I mean, I wouldn't travel a long way for this. I'd settle at Roberto's instead. But if I were in the vicinity, I would definitely buy one considering that it is half the price of that in Roberto's plus it has a good dough, has plenty of stuffings and is large. :)

Dinagyang Siopao
Nang Pat's Siopaoan sa Villa
Bonifacio St, Iloilo City

The Grand Tower

One Monday ago, when all the food stalls inside the school were closed, we had no choice but to go somewhere to eat. As usual, my friends let me call the shots.

I suggested Grand Tower and they all agreed without any hesitations. I chose to eat at Grand Tower because I have heard good remarks about it. And, the food is cheap.

So off we went to Grand Tower.

At Grand Tower, we were greeted by very courteous people who were willing to attend to our every need.

We had a hard time selecting what to eat because there were lots of good things to eat! I finally chose my all-time favorite sisig and a chopsuey dish. After I paid for my food, a waiter carried my tray to where he was to seat us. I thanked him then got a glass of water. Along the way, I snooped inside the soup pot to see what was in it. A waitress saw me and instructed another waiter to serve soup to me and my friends. Talk about attentiveness. :)

I finally sat down and ate. The sisig was heavenly and spicy. All of my friends agreed that it was good and very well paired with rice. The chopsuey was also good. The vegetables weren't soggy and were crispy and crunchy. My friends were equally enjoying their meals that they ordered more servings of rice.

This is some place I would return to.

The Grand Tower
Montinola cor Iznart Street
Iloilo City